Creating a CasC bundle for the operations center

13 minute readScalabilityAutomation

The configuration of the operations center is described in a collection of YAML files referred to as a CasC bundle.

CloudBees does not recommend adding your CloudBees CI license or certificate to the CasC bundle for the operations center because these values are hardcoded. If you do add a license key or certificate to your CasC bundle, you must manually ensure they are always up-to-date, because they will be the only license and certificate the operations center can read.

Manually creating a configuration bundle

To create a new configuration bundle, create each of the files listed below. A CasC bundle consists of the following files:

  • bundle.yaml: This file is an index file that describes the bundle, and references the other files in the bundle.

  • jenkins.yaml: This file contains the Jenkins configuration, as defined by the Configuration as Code plugin.

  • plugins.yaml: (Optional) This file contains a list of all plugins that should be installed.

  • items.yaml: (Optional) This file contains the items to be created.

  • rbac.yaml: (Optional) This file contains all role-based access control (RBAC) groups and roles defined at the root level.

  • variables.yaml: (Optional) This file defines the variables that can be used in the jenkins.yaml, items.yaml, and rbac.yaml files.

For the bundle to be valid, the above files must use these exact filenames.
You can have a configuration bundle without the optional files. If you do not include these files in your bundle, they should not be listed in your bundle.yaml file.

bundle.yaml

The bundle.yaml file is an index file that describes the bundle and references the other files in the bundle.

Property Type Description

id

string

Required. This bundle’s unique identifier. NOTE: The id property is a legacy property that is no longer used. However, it must be included in the bundle.yaml file for backward compatibility.

version

string

Required. The bundle’s version. This value should be incremented whenever the bundle is modified.

apiVersion

string

Required. This is the bundle’s API version. The expected value is "1".

description

string

Optional. A helpful description of the bundle.

jcasc

list of strings

Optional. This indicates the bundle contains a jenkins.yaml file.

jcascMergeStrategy

string

Optional. Defines the merge strategy when multiple Jenkins Configuration as Code files are included in a CasC bundle. For more information, refer to Merge Strategy.

  • errorOnConflict: (default) Returns an exception if there is a conflict in multiple YAML files.

  • override: Overrides the configuration files according to the loading order. This indicates the bundle contains a jenkins.yaml file.

plugins

list of strings

Optional. This indicates the bundle contains a plugins.yaml file.

items

list of strings

Optional. This indicates the bundle contains a items.yaml file.

rbac

list of strings

Optional. This indicates the bundle contains a rbac.yaml file.

Example bundle.yaml file

id: "bundle-1" version: "1" apiVersion: "1" description: "My CloudBees Configuration as Code (CasC) bundle" jcasc: - "jenkins.yaml" jcascMergeStrategy: "errorOnConflict" plugins: - "plugins.yaml" items: - "items.yaml" rbac: - "rbac.yaml" variables: - "variables.yaml"

jenkins.yaml

This file is the main CasC configuration file that describes the operations center. For more information on how to format this file, refer to the Jenkins Configuration-as-Code plugin documentation.

Example jenkins.yaml file

jenkins: systemMessage: "Operations center configured using CloudBees CasC" numExecutors: 0 securityRealm: ldap: configurations: - displayNameAttributeName: "cn" groupMembershipStrategy: fromGroupSearch: filter: "member={0}" groupSearchBase: "ou=Groups" inhibitInferRootDN: false managerDN: "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=org" managerPasswordSecret: ${LDAP_MANAGER_PASSWORD} rootDN: "dc=example,dc=org" server: "ldap://ldap-openldap:389" userSearchBase: "ou=People" disableMailAddressResolver: false groupIdStrategy: "caseInsensitive" userIdStrategy: "caseInsensitive" authorizationStrategy: "cloudBeesRoleBasedAccessControl" (1) security: securitySettingsEnforcement: global: realmAndAuthorization: canCustomMapping: false canOverride: true defaultMappingFactory: "restrictedEquivalentRAMF" controllerExecutorCount: enforce: canOverride: false count: 0 cloudBeesCasCServer: visibility: true (2) unclassified: cascAutoControllerProvisioning: provisionControllerOnCreation: true (3) fireAndForget: true (4) initialDelay: 15 (5) timeout: 600 (6) duration: 60 (7) location: url: https://operations-center:8888/ (8) bundleStorageService: (9) activated: true activeBundle: name: "local-folder" retriever: SCM: scmSource: git: id: "acf88621-05a0-4d50-9166-d7767868dc43" remote: "https://github.com/my-company/repo.git" traits: - "gitBranchDiscovery" pollingPeriod: 0 purgeOnDeactivation: false
1 Required to use CloudBees RBAC configured using CasC.
2 Optional if using the items.yaml file to create a controller item. When visibility is set to true, all CasC bundles that do not have an availability pattern defined can be used by any controller. This option provides more flexibility, but is less secure.
3 When provisionControllerOnCreation is set to true, all managed controller items are provisioned automatically after they are created using CasC.
4 When fireAndForget is set to true, the automatic provisioning process starts immediately, and does not wait for the controller to be connected.
5 The amount of time, in seconds, to wait before starting the automatic provisioning process.
6 The amount of time, in seconds, to complete the automatic provisioning process. If fireAndForget is set to false, this timeout may prevent queued provisioning requests from being blocked.
7 The provisioning duration, in seconds. After the initial delay, controllers are provisioned at random in batches of 20 controllers, for this time period. Increase this value to increase the amount of time between controller provisioning requests. If provisioning more than 20 controllers, the provisioning process will exceed the specified duration.
8 Required to create client controller items. The url is the operations center URL.
9 Required if using a local folder on the operations center server or an SCM tool as the Configuration as Code bundle location.

plugins.yaml

This file lists all plugins that should be installed on the controller or the operations center. Plugins not included in the CloudBees Assurance Program (CAP) should be added via a Plugin Catalog. For more information, see [_plugin_catalog_yaml].

The contents of this file should be a list of plugin IDs. Find many popular plugins and their IDs at the following sites:

Example plugins.yaml file

plugins: # In CAP - id: "cloudbees-casc-client" - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-api" - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-commons" - id: "cloudbees-casc-items-server" - id: "configuration-as-code" - id: "operations-center-rbac"

items.yaml

The purpose of the items.yaml file is to describe the items to be created in the instance. For more information, refer to Creating items with CasC for the operations center.

  • Items that are present on the instance in the UI but not included in the items.yaml file will remain.

  • You must install the prerequisite CloudBees CI software and plugins based on the item type you are creating.

Property Type Description

removeStrategy

object

Required. It specifies the strategy followed to handle an existing configuration when a new configuration is applied.

items

string

Required. The only supported value is NONE. No item is going to be removed in the instance as part of the creation process.

rbac

string

Required. Specifies how an existing configuration is handled when a new configuration is applied.

  • sync: If the role or group already exists but the configuration changes, the new configuration is applied and the existing groups or roles are deleted.

  • update: If the role or group already exists but the configuration changes, only the existing role or group is updated and replaced with the new role or group.

items

list of objects

Required. The list of items.

kind

string

Required. It defines the kind of item created. Supported items:

  • backupAndRestore

  • clientController

  • clusterOpProject

  • folder

  • freeStyle

  • managedController

  • sharedAgent

  • sharedCloud

name

string

Required. The name of the item.

displayName

string

Optional. The display name of the item.

description

string

Optional. The description of the item.

groups

list of objects

Optional. The list of RBAC groups included in the item.

name

string

Required. The name of the group.

members

object

Required.

users

list of strings

Optional. A list of user ids of users that belong to the group.

roles

list

Required. A list of RBAC roles that are assigned to this group.

name

string

Required. The name of the assigned role.

filteredRoles

list of strings

Optional. The list of roles to filter.

Example items.yaml file

  • If creating a new controller item, refer to Creating a new controller item using CasC for the operations center.

  • By default, shared agent and shared cloud agent items are configured to be taken online. To configure the shared agent or shared cloud agent item to be taken offline, add the takeOnline property to the items.yaml and set it to false. For example: takeOnline: false.

Folders with limited fields
Folders with extended fields
Freestyle job
Cluster operations
Managed controller
Client controller
Shared agent
Shared cloud agent
Backup
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "folder" name: project-${team_group} displayName: "Project Alpha" description: "Project Alpha is going to change the world!" properties: - folderCredentialsProperty: folderCredentials: - credentials: - usernamePassword: password: ${secret_location} scope: GLOBAL description: description id: test-id usernameSecret: false username: test-user domain: {} groups: - name: "Project Alpha Developers" members: external_groups: - ldap-project-${team_group} roles: - name: "developer" items: (1) - kind: "folder" name: "project-alpha-tests" displayName: "Project Alpha Tests" items: - kind: "folder" name: "test-1" - kind: "folder" name: "test-2" - kind: "folder" name: "project-beta" displayName: "Project Beta" description: "Secret project! Only Admins can see this!" filteredRoles: (2) - "developer" - "browser"
1 Items can be nested within other items, enabling users to create a folder structure.
2 Roles can be filtered, for example to allow only administrators to view certain projects.
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: (1) - kind: "folder" name: project-${team_group} displayName: "Project Alpha" description: "Project Alpha is going to change the world!" groups: - name: "Project Alpha Developers" members: external_groups: - ldap-project-${team_group} roles: - name: "developer" items: - kind: "folder" name: "project-alpha-tests" displayName: "Project Alpha Tests" items: - kind: "folder" name: "test-1" - kind: "folder" name: "test-2" properties: - envVars: vars: FOO: "BAR" BAR: "BAZ" - folderLibraries: libraries: - libraryConfiguration: implicit: false allowVersionOverride: true retriever: modernSCM: scm: github: traits: - gitHubBranchDiscovery: strategyId: 1 - gitHubPullRequestDiscovery: strategyId: 1 - gitHubForkDiscovery: trust: gitHubTrustEveryone: {} strategyId: 1 repoOwner: "company" id: "library-id" repository: "project-alpha" configuredByUrl: true repositoryUrl: "https://github.com/company/project-alpha" name: "my-library" includeInChangesets: true - folderCredentialsProperty: folderCredentials: - credentials: - usernamePassword: password: ${secret_location} scope: GLOBAL description: description id: test-id usernameSecret: false username: test-user domain: {} - itemRestrictions: allowedTypes: - "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.job.WorkflowJob" - "hudson.matrix.MatrixProject" - "hudson.model.FreeStyleProject" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.jobTemplate.JobTemplate" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.folder.Folder" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.builder.BuilderTemplate" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.auxiliary.AuxModel" - "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.multibranch.WorkflowMultiBranchProject" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.publisher.PublisherTemplate" - "com.cloudbees.hudson.plugins.modeling.impl.folder.FolderTemplate" - "com.infradna.hudson.plugins.backup.BackupProject" filter: true items: - kind: "freeStyle" name: "project-alpha-freestyle" displayName: "Freestyle job in the Project Alpha folder" - kind: "folder" name: "project-beta" displayName: "Project Beta" description: "Secret project! Only Admins can see this!" filteredRoles: (2) - "developer" - "browser"
1 Items can be nested within other items, enabling users to create a folder structure.
2 Roles can be filtered, for example to allow only administrators to view certain projects.
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "freeStyle" name: "project-alpha-freestyle" displayName: "Project Alpha Freestyle" description: "This is Project Alpha's Freestyle job!" disabled: false scm: gitSCM: extensions: - checkoutOption: timeout: 4 gitTool: git userRemoteConfigs: - userRemoteConfig: name: "developer-a" credentialsId: "credentials-id" url: "git@github.com:company/project-alpha.git" browser: githubWeb: repoUrl: "https://github.com/company/project-alpha" doGenerateSubmoduleConfigurations: false branches: - branchSpec: name: "*/main" buildDiscarder: logRotator: artifactDaysToKeep: 3 daysToKeep: 1 numToKeep: 2 artifactNumToKeep: 4 scmCheckoutStrategy: standard: { } builders: - shell: command: "pwd"
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: clusterOpProject name: "project-alpha-cluster-operations" displayName: "Project Alpha - Cluster operations" description: "These are Project Alpha's cluster operations!" disabled: false concurrentBuild: true operations: - masterClusterOperation: failureMode: IMMEDIATELY clusterOpSteps: - backupClusterOpStep: subjects: - buildRecordSubject: {} - jobConfigurationSubject: {} format: zipFormat: {} retentionPolicy: exponentialDecayRetentionPolicy: {} safeDelaySeconds: 10 store: s3Store: bucketName: ' mybucket' sse: true bucketFolder: somefolder credentialsId: 'my-aws-credentials-id' region: us-east-1 timeoutSeconds: 0 itemSource: jenkinsRootItemSource: {} filters: - isMasterOnlineFilter: {} inParallel: 0 noRetries: 0
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: managedController displayName: "managed-controller-alpha" name: "managed-controller-alpha" description: "This is Project Alpha's managed controller!" groups: - name: "Project Alpha Developers" members: users: - developer-1 roles: - name: developer properties: - configurationAsCode: bundle: bundle-1 - healthReporting: enabled: false - owner: delay: 5 owners: '' - envelopeExtension: allowExceptions: false - sharedConfigurationOptOut: optOut: false - licensing: strategy: perUserLicensingStrategy: {} configuration: kubernetes: allowExternalAgents: false terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 1200 #image: cloudbees/mc-foo-image # uncomment to use a non-default image memory: 3072 (1) fsGroup: '1000' cpus: 1.0 readinessTimeoutSeconds: 5 livenessInitialDelaySeconds: 300 readinessInitialDelaySeconds: 30 clusterEndpointId: default disk: 50 readinessFailureThreshold: 100 livenessTimeoutSeconds: 10 domain: managed-controller-alpha livenessPeriodSeconds: 10 javaOptions: -DfooSystemProperty="foo" -Dbar="bar" yaml: |- --- kind: StatefulSet metadata: labels: my-label: my-value
1 Some settings, such as controller memory, require the controller to be re-provisioned for the setting to take effect.
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: clientController displayName: "client-controller-beta" name: "client-controller-beta" description: "This is Project Beta's client controller!" groups: - name: "Project Beta Developers" members: users: - developer-1 roles: - name: developer properties: - configurationAsCode: bundle: bundle-2 - healthReporting: enabled: false - owner: delay: 5 owners: '' - envelopeExtension: allowExceptions: false - sharedConfigurationOptOut: optOut: false - licensing: strategy: perUserLicensingStrategy: {} - webSocket: enabled: true
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "sharedAgent" displayName: "Shared Agent for this cluster" name: "shared-agent-1" description: "Shared Agent for this cluster" remoteFS: "/tmp/remote" properties: - sharedAgent: customizers: - envVars: value: SKIP_RELEASE: "TRUE" JENKINS_VERSION: "2.303" - toolLocation: value: - name: "git" type: "git" home: "/usr/local/git" - name: "maven3" type: "mvn" home: "/usr/local/mvn" labels: "ubuntu" launcher: inboundAgent: webSocket: true workDirSettings: remotingWorkDirSettings: internalDir: "/path/to/directory" disabled: false failIfWorkDirIsMissing: true workDirPath: "/path/to/directory" agentStartupOptions: "-noCertificateCheck" vmargs: "-Xms2G -Xmx2G" tunnel: "192.1.1.45:22" mode: EXCLUSIVE numExecutors: 10 retentionStrategy: sharedNodeRetentionStrategy: {}
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "sharedCloud" displayName: "Shared Cloud Agent for this cluster" name: "shared-cloud-1" description: "Shared Cloud Agent for this cluster" properties: - sharedCloud: customizers: - envVars: value: SKIP_RELEASE: "TRUE" JENKINS_VERSION: "2.303" - toolLocation: value: - name: "git" type: "git" home: "/usr/local/git" - name: "maven3" type: "mvn" home: "/usr/local/mvn" cloud: inboundAgents: mode: EXCLUSIVE numExecutors: 10 remoteFS: "/path/to/directory" labels: "ubuntu" launcher: inboundAgent: webSocket: true workDirSettings: remotingWorkDirSettings: internalDir: "/path/to/directory" disabled: false failIfWorkDirIsMissing: true workDirPath: "/path/to/directory" agentStartupOptions: "-noCertificateCheck" vmargs: "-Xms2G -Xmx2G" tunnel: "192.1.1.45:22"
removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: backupAndRestore name: project-alpha-backup displayName: "Project Alpha backup" description: "This is Project Alpha's backup job!" buildersList: - backupBuilder: subjects: - buildRecordSubject: excludes: foo - jobConfigurationSubject: excludes: bar - systemConfigurationSubject: excludes: baz omitMasterKey: true format: zipFormat: {} exclusive: false store: s3Store: bucketName: bucket sse: true bucketFolder: bucketFolder credentialsId: testCredential region: us-east-1 retentionPolicy: exponentialDecayRetentionPolicy: {} safeDelaySeconds: 42 label: agent-for-backup triggers: - cron: spec: 0 0 * * * buildDiscarder: logRotator: numToKeep: 5

rbac.yaml

The purpose of the rbac.yaml file is to describe the role-based access control (RBAC) groups and roles defined at the root level.

  • Only roles and groups can be managed and only a subset of fields are supported.

  • Roles and groups present on the instance in the UI but not included in the items.yaml file will be removed.

Property Type Description

removeStrategy

object

Required. It specifies the strategy followed to handle an existing configuration when a new configuration is applied.

rbac

string

Required. Specifies how an existing configuration is handled when a new configuration is applied.

  • sync: If the role or group already exists but the configuration changes, the new configuration is applied and the existing groups or roles are deleted.

  • update: If the role or group already exists but the configuration changes, only the existing role or group is updated and replaced with the new role or group.

groups

list of objects

Required. The list of RBAC groups available on the controller.

name

string

Required. The name of the RBAC group.

members

list of lists

Required. The list of users included as members of the RBAC group. There are several types of members including: users, internal_groups, and external_groups.

users

list of strings

Optional. The list of user ids of users who belong to the RBAC group.

internal_groups

list of strings

Optional. The list of groups created in the CloudBees CI instance that belong to the RBAC group.

external_groups

list of strings

Optional. The list of groups imported from an identity provider (such as LDAP) that belong to the RBAC group.

roles

list of objects

Required. The list of RBAC roles that are assigned to this RBAC group.

name

string

Required. The name of the RBAC role assigned to the RBAC group.

grantedAt

string

Optional. The level the RBAC role is applicable. Available values include: current, child, or grandchild. The default level is current.

propagates

boolean

Optional. The setting for if the role propagates. The default value is true.

roles

list of objects

Required. The list of RBAC roles available on the controller.

name

string

Required. The name of the RBAC role.

filterable

boolean

Optional. The setting for if the role is filterable. The default value is true.

permissions

list of strings

Optional. The list of permissions authorized for members assigned this RBAC role. Can be empty if a member has no permissions assigned.

Example rbac.yaml file

removeStrategy: rbac: "SYNC" (1) roles: - name: administer permissions: - hudson.model.Hudson.Administer - name: developer permissions: - hudson.model.Hudson.Read - hudson.model.Item.Read - hudson.model.Item.Create - hudson.model.Item.Configure filterable: "true" (2) - name: browser permissions: - hudson.model.Hudson.Read - hudson.model.Item.Read filterable: "true" - name: authenticated filterable: "true" permissions: - hudson.model.Hudson.Read groups: - name: Administrators roles: - name: administer grantedAt: current (3) members: users: - admin external_groups: - ${external_admin_group} - name: Developers roles: (4) (5) - name: developer members: users: - developer internal_groups: - "some-other-group" external_groups: - "ldap-cb-developers" - name: Browsers roles: - name: browser members: users: - read
1 For security reasons, SYNC is here to remove groups/roles from CloudBees Continuous Integration when they are removed from this file.
2 If filterable is not included, the default value is “false”.
3 Other options that could be used here include: "child" or "grandchild".
4 If propagates is not included, the default value is "true".
5 If grantedAt is not included, the default value is "current".

variables.yaml

The variables.yaml file defines the variables that can be used in the jenkins.yaml, items.yaml, and rbac.yaml files. Variables are not supported for the plugins.yaml file.

Example variables.yaml file

variables: - key: value - long_text: |- multiline string without quotes - another: text - team_name: Team Alpha - team_group: alpha - external_admin_group: ldap-cb-admins

Exporting a CasC configuration

You can export a CasC configuration from an existing operations center instance to create a template bundle. You can use the template bundle to set up a new operations center instance using CasC. However, the exported configuration should not be used as is and must be manually updated.

You can also export an individual CasC item and use it to create a new item by adding it to the items.yaml file.

For more information, refer to Exporting an individual CasC item.

  • The export feature relies on Jenkins LTS - Configuration as Code export, which has limitations. Therefore, the exported configuration is not a complete, correct, and ready-to-use CasC bundle. For more information, refer to the JCasC Jenkins LTS documentation.

  • The exported configuration is incomplete because some plugins are only partially compatible with Configuration as Code. They can read and load the CasC configuration, however, they do not generate the correct YAML files when exporting. In addition, the jenkins.yaml file may include extraneous default values for some properties that can be removed.

  • When exporting CasC bundles from existing operations center instances, you must verify there are no BeeKeeper plugin warnings, as the export logic relies on the CloudBees Assurance Program (CAP) to generate a consistent plugins.yaml file. If there are BeeKeeper warnings, the export still returns content, but the consistency of the plugins.yaml file cannot be guaranteed. The files may be unusable and require modifications due to warning comments in the files for plugin conflicts.

Prerequisites

The following plugins must be installed to export the current configuration:

Exporting the current configuration

To export the current configuration from a test operations center instance:

  1. Install operations center as a test instance.

  2. Configure the plugins and global configuration using the UI.

  3. Select Manage Jenkins in the left pane.

  4. Select CloudBees Configuration as Code export and update.

    CloudBees Configuration as Code export and update
    Figure 1. CloudBees Configuration as Code export and update
  5. Select Current configuration.

    Current configuration
    Figure 2. Current configuration
  6. Select Download to export the configuration. You can export individual YAML files or export all files in zip format.

    You can have a configuration bundle without the plugins.yaml, items.yaml, and rbac.yaml files. If you do not include these files in your bundle, do not list them in your bundle.yaml file.
  7. Save the files using the following file names:

    • bundle.yaml

    • jenkins.yaml

    • plugins.yaml

    • items.yaml

    • rbac.yaml

    • variables.yaml

      For the bundle to be valid, the above files must use these exact filenames. If you rename these files, you must update them in your bundle.yaml file.
  8. Uninstall the original operations center test instance; it is no longer needed.

Using YAML anchors

If a YAML file contains repetitive elements, you can replace them with YAML anchors. Any part of the YAML file can be defined as an anchor and used as the reference if the anchor name has a prefix of x-.

Example of YAML anchors

The following example items.yaml file has the x-colors-declaration anchor that is used in the choice parameter element.

x-colors-declaration: &colors - red - green - blue removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "freeStyle" name: "project-alpha-freestyle" displayName: "Project Alpha Freestyle" description: "This is Project Alpha's Freestyle job!" disabled: false blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding: false blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding: false concurrentBuild: false parameters: - choice: name: foreground-color choices: *colors - choice: name: background-color choices: *colors scm: none: {} scmCheckoutStrategy: standard: {}

This produces the following result:

removeStrategy: items: "none" rbac: "sync" items: - kind: "freeStyle" name: "project-alpha-freestyle" displayName: "Project Alpha Freestyle" description: "This is Project Alpha's Freestyle job!" disabled: false blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding: false blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding: false concurrentBuild: false parameters: - choice: name: foreground-color choices: - red - green - blue - choice: name: background-color choices: - red - green - blue scm: none: {} scmCheckoutStrategy: standard: {}